Editor: Francesca Cappitelli, University of Milan, Italy
Probiotics are “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host”. The interest in the study of probiotics to prevent or treat disease rose rapidly and constantly in the last 20 years, with the number of publications per year on this topic growing from 300 in 2001 to more than 5,000 in 2021. Nonetheless, the major contribution to this increase has been given by studies (in vitro, with animal models and human trials) focusing on the effects of probiotics on the host, which have largely exceeded the scientific investigation on the biological aspects of probiotic microbial cells.
This collection of articles and reviews focuses on the physiology, metabolism, structure, and phylogeny of probiotic microorganisms, ranging from the conventional probiotics (lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria) to the “next generation” probiotics, which includes the growing number of bacterial symbionts of the human body (e.g., Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii) that could find promising applications as live biotherapeutics.
Submissions should be formatted according to the journal guidelines of Annals of Microbiology. Please indicate clearly in the cover letter and as part of the online submission form that the manuscript is to be considered for this collection.
All manuscripts will undergo standard peer review, and must be submitted through the journal's online submission system.
This collection will be open for submissions until 31st December 2023.